In Wildlife Matters #8, hosts John Hardin and Amy Gustin talk to Cristina Eisenberg about wolves and wolf ecology. Cristina Eisenberg is lead scientist at the Earthwatch Institute, and author of The Wolf’s Tooth: Keystone PredatorsTrophic Cascades, and Biodiversity and The Carnivore Way: Coexisting with and Conserving America’s Predators. Wildlife Matters #8

Wolves are back in California! The discovery of the Shasta Pack in Siskiyou County heralds an opportunity for California to experience the ecological benefits of the presence of wolves. To learn about wolf ecology, tune in to Wildlife Matters on Thursday, October 22, at 5 p.m. on KMUD 99.1 FM. Hosts Amy Gustin and John Hardin talk to Cristina Eisenberg, lead scientist for the Earthwatch Institute, and author of The Carnivore Way: Coexisting with and ConservingAmerica’s Predators, and The Wolf’s Tooth: Keystone Predators, Trophic Cascades, andBiodiversity. We will learn how the presence of wolves in an ecosystem increases biodiversity, but only if we allow them to exist in sufficient numbers. Cristina Eisenberg witnessed the return of wolves in the northern Rockies, from her home in Montana. Elk could no longer afford to be complacent browsers, and the forest ecosystem changed, as a result. This experience inspired her to earn a master’s and doctorate in wolf ecology and recovery. She is conducting long term research on wolves in the Rocky Mountain ecosystem. Asked what she would say to someone in California, who wasn’t sure they were happy to see wolves return, she said “Wolves are a lot easier to live with than many people realize. A lot of the fears about wolves are based on myths that are not true. Coexisting with wolves is a win-win situation.”